Stadium owner, builder haggle over covering $3.5-M cost

The new stadium has suffered from numerous design and construction issues, the latest of which is snowmelt leaking into luxury suites and the visitors' dressing room. Photo Store

The owner and builder of Investors Group Field are close to a deal to pay for up to $3.5 million worth of additional work on the city's new football stadium.

Since 2013, stadium contractor Stuart Olson Dominion Construction has been embroiled in a financial dispute with BBB Stadium Inc., the non-profit organization that built the 33,500-seat venue on the University of Manitoba's Fort Garry campus.

Katz says key details of stadium design overlooked

Mayor Sam Katz says not enough attention was paid to key details of the design of Winnipeg's new football stadium.

Katz said Wednesday the penetration of snowmelt into suites and a dressing room at Investors Group Field is another example of flaws in the structure's design.

"In my opinion, there should have been much more time devoted to details which for some reason were overlooked," Katz said. "I have no explanation for it. We (city hall) weren't involved with it, but there's no doubt in my mind that is the case."

The stadium's design deficiencies include handrails that had to be replaced, uninsulated plumbing, crawl spaces that required fireproofing, no means of allowing concert-goers on to the playing field and a press box open to the elements.

"With all due respect, that's just poor planning, end of story. Poor planning," Katz said.

The Winnipeg Football Club would not provide a cost estimate for the damage and declined repeated requests from the city's media outlets to see the damage.

Katz said he was troubled the Winnipeg Football Club and BBB Stadium Inc., the non-profit body responsible for its construction, refused to allow media access to the water-damaged portions.

Allowing media into the flooded areas would interfere with remediation efforts, BBB Stadium said in a statement. Tourism, Culture, Heritage & Sport Minister Ron Lemieux said he would not second-guess that decision.

Lemieux also said the city was "directly involved" in the stadium's construction, both as a funder and as one of four stakeholders in BBB Stadium, along with the football club, province and the University of Manitoba.

-- Aldo Santin and Bartley Kives

Related Items

Articles

The stadium has suffered from design and construction issues that included replacing handrails that weren't up to code, punching holes in concrete to allow concertgoers access to the playing surface, installing missing insulation and fireproofing crawl spaces.

BBB Stadium has argued some of the additional work is governed by a guaranteed-maximum-price agreement and is the responsibility of the contractor. Stuart Olson Dominion has argued some of the work results from changes to the original design and thus are the responsibility of the stadium's owner.

'Let me just say, one does not have a crystal ball, and you don't know, totally, what may be down the road. There's very limited amounts of money that will be going into this particular facility'

-- Tourism, Culture, Heritage and Sport Minister Ron Lemieux on not ruling out further provincial funding for the stadium

Compounding the dispute is no consensus among the four BBB Stadium stakeholders -- the city, province, university and Winnipeg Football Club -- about who would pay for any work that ultimately winds up being BBB Stadium's responsibility. Mayor Sam Katz, for one, has pledged not to spend an extra penny.

A deal to finally settle the issue is imminent, said BBB chairman Andrew Konowalchuk, the U of M's associate vice-president in charge of administration and a project manager by training.

"A couple of days ago, I would have told you it would be done over the next 24 hours," Konowalchuk said in an interview. The resolution of the dispute, he said, has been delayed by the discovery of snowmelt infiltrating luxury suites and the visitors' dressing room at Investors Group Field.

The financial responsibility for this design flaw -- an apparent inability to seal weather-protected portions of the stadium -- is not part of the negotiations and will clearly fall to either the contractor or the designing architect, Konowalchuk said.

BBB Stadium construction reports said the infiltration of water into the stadium was identified as a problem well before the first CFL game was played at Investors Group Field.

"Leaks on the west side are a great concern, as we have equipment in place in the game-day production suite," reads the stadium-construction update for April 21, 2013.

Konowalchuk said the stadium's funders will not be on the hook to repair either the water damage or fix the seals on the building.

BBB Stadium is, however, expected to cover at least part of the $3.5 million in the construction dispute with Stuart Olson Dominion. That means the final cost of the stadium project is expected to rise at least one more time.

The price tag for the stadium stands at $208.5 million. The Selinger government has fronted the bulk of this cost through $191 million worth of loans and grants. Given the imminent resolution of the dispute with the contractor, Tourism, Culture, Heritage & Sport Minister Ron Lemieux would not rule out further provincial funding for the stadium.

"Let me just say, one does not have a crystal ball, and you don't know, totally, what may be down the road," he said Wednesday, adding further cash infusions would not be significant. "There's very limited amounts of money that will be going into this particular facility."

The resolution of the dispute may also allow Stuart Olson Dominion to pay up to 17 subcontractors who have not been paid since last summer for additional work conducted on the stadium. Stuart Olson Dominion and its subcontractors briefly suspended warranty and other work on the stadium last fall due to non-payment.

Stuart Olson Dominion did not respond to interview requests, while the Winnipeg Football Club refused interview requests.

You can comment on most stories on winnipegfreepress.com. You can also agree or disagree with other comments.
All you need to do is be a Winnipeg Free Press print or e-edition subscriber to join the conversation and give your feedback.

You can comment on most stories on winnipegfreepress.com. You can also agree or disagree with other comments.
All you need to do is be a Winnipeg Free Press print or e-edition subscriber to join the conversation and give your feedback.